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Penn Murfee was mentioned in the interview with Trent Blank that ran here at FanGraphs on Friday. Discussing pitch profiles, Seattle’s director of pitching strategy recalled the erstwhile Mariners reliever being “a guy who had cut-ride” on his four-seam fastball.
Murfee is now with the White Sox, and Chicago’s South Side club is in Boston for a weekend series, so I took the opportunity to get his own perspective on the offering. What I learned talking to him at my home base of Fenway Park is that the movement he gets on his heater is circumstantial. Moreover, it’s legal.
“Back in 2021, in [Triple-A] Sacramento, my pitch profile changed from a running arm-side fastball,” explained Murfee, who was in the Seattle system from 2018-2023, the last year-plus of that span in the majors. “For whatever reason, I started choking the ball a little tight, and began throwing what was classified as a cutter. It went to zero inches of horizontal movement. My pitching coach at the time said, ‘Whatever you changed, don’t change it back.’ He said that I went from having a very average fastball to something unique.”
The reason behind the movement change? He stopped using sticky.
“That’s what it was, to be honest with you,” Murfee claimed. “I used to use Pelican Grip. When they started cracking down on it, I didn’t want to get suspended, so I quit using sticky. Overnight, my shapes got a little better. I haven’t used it since.
“I used to throw my fastball pretty normally,” the low-slot hurler elaborated. “Once I couldn’t get sticky I felt like, ‘Oh crap. I’m going to throw this ball into the third base dugout.’ I started choking it really hard, and that’s when I began cutting the ball.”
One thing he doesn’t do is throw hard. Per Baseball Savant, Murfee’s cut-ride four-seamer ranks in the second percentile at a humble 88.2 mph. My citing that fact elicited a bit of pushback.
“It’s actually higher than it was in 2022,” replied Murfee, who had Tommy John surgery in July 2023 and didn’t return to the majors until this season. “I mean, I’m not throwing 102, but I don’t think you have to do that in today’s game. I can get hitters out.”
That was certainly true in his 2022 rookie season. Murfee made 64 appearances that year and logged a 2.99 ERA and a 3.10 FIP over 69-and-a-third innings. As for my agreeing with him that it isn’t necessary to reach triple digits in order to retire big-league hitters, let’s just say that the former 33rd-round draft pick has a wry sense of humor.
“It obviously helps to have high velo,” stated Murfee, who relies heavily on a sweeper that he prefers to call a slider. “Maybe I’m just mad that I don’t throw 100. Everybody wishes they threw 100.”
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Luke Easter went 16 for 45 against Vic Raschi.
Bris Lord went 3 for 7 against Jim Baskette.
Bunny Brief went 2 for 3 against Lee Meadows.
Dave Concepcion went 10 for 19 against Jamie Easterly.
Paul Easterling went 1 for 10 against Lefty Grove.
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Joe Musgrove won’t pitch this season. The 32-year-old right-hander had Tommy John Surgery last October and won’t be back on the mound for the San Diego Padres until 2026. Once he returns, he’ll be looking to build upon a career that moved in the right direction after he headed west. A combined 29-38 with a 4.33 ERA between Houston and Pittsburgh from 2016-2020, he’s since gone 37-24 with a 3.32 ERA.
Musgrove’s further construction will have a shelf life, of course. Time waits for no man, and continuing to toe a rubber — even with a sound elbow — eventually becomes implausible. What happens then? Might Musgrove move from the mound into a coaching role?
“I don’t know, man,” he replied to that question. “I’ve never desired to be a pitching coach. Once I’m done as a player it might be hard to walk away completely, so it could become more of a realistic thought. But that’s in the future.”
The veteran of nine big-league seasons possesses both the expertise and communication skills that the job requires, and if he does go that route, a combination of old-school and new-school approaches would accompany him on the ride.
“I’ve always been someone who pitches off of feel,” Musgrove said. “I rarely get on TrackMan — I don’t base my game on metrics — but I do use it as a benchmark. By having that foundation of knowing how to pitch, and knowing yourself really well, you can become better by adding in the data. It gives you that extra edge.
“You learn the type of pitcher you are,” elaborated Musgrove. “How your hand plays — supinator or pronator — using the Edgertronic to find out how the ball is actually coming off your fingers. Sometimes the way it comes off doesn’t line up with the movement of the ball, so then you start looking at seam-shifted pitches. You learn how to do things like make a cut-changeup play in your favor with similar action, as opposed to trying to force yourself inside the ball and do something that’s unnatural. I tend to cut the ball with everything, but now I can stay in a cut position and use the kick-change style pitch, or a seam-shifted changeup, to get the same action. I don’t have an actual kick-change, but the grip is similar and it works like one. It kicks the axis.”
Which brings us back to his going on to help make pitchers better. Musgrove owns Symbiotic Training Center, in San Diego, so it’s not actually a matter of if. Rather, it’s a matter of where, and for whom.
“I have the training facility already,” he explained. “So I’ll be able to run lessons out of there at the pace I like, with the verbiage I like, and not have to conform to anybody else’s structure. Not so say I won’t ever do it, but right now it’s not something I’m desiring.”
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A quiz:
The Chicago White Sox won the World Series in 2005. Who led the team in home runs that season, and which pitcher was credited with the most wins?
The answer can be found below.
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NEWS NOTES
Tommy Helms, a second baseman who played for four teams — primarily the Cincinnati Reds — from 1964-1977, died last Sunday at age 83. A member of the club’s Hall of Fame, Helms won two Gold Gloves, made a pair of All-Star teams, and won 1965 Rookie-of-the-Year honors with the Reds.
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The answer to the quiz is Paul Konerko with 40 home runs, and Jon Garland with 18 wins.
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Last Sunday’s column led with Nick Sandlin and included Tyler Heineman opining on what makes his Toronto teammate so hard to hit. Left on the cutting-room floor was what the backstop said about another member of the Blue Jays bullpen.
“A lot of people have something unique about them; it’s part of why they’re in the big leagues,” Heineman told me. “But Yimi García’s fastball stands out. There is something about it. Super low release. Hides the ball well. Hitters just don’t seem to square it up often.”
García has made 10 relief appearances and thrown 10-and-a-third scoreless innings so far this season. He has a 35.9% strikeout rate.
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Myles Straw is an underappreciated role player off to a good start. Now in his eighth big-league season, and his first with the Blue Jays, the 30-year-old outfielder is slashing .333/.389/.485 over 38 plate appearances. Befitting his reputation, he’s been an asset with the glove.
What the erstwhile Astro and Guardian isn’t known for is his bat. His career slash line is .246/.318/.312, and the home run he hit earlier this week was just his seventh in the bigs. Much of his offensive value has come on the base paths, where he’s swiped 91 bags in 117 attempts.
His expectations when Houston took him in the 12th round of the 2015 draft out of Division II St. Johns River State College?
“I don’t really know,” Straw said to that question. “I’ve just always tried to live in the present moment. I’ve been blessed to be on some really good teams, and have great teammates and coaches. so I feel that everything has worked out. Obviously, you always want to play Major League Baseball and I’ve gotten to do that for a little bit of time now.”
Straw’s 2019 FanGraphs scouting report cited “70-grade speed” and “complete lack of power,” and went on to project him as “either a low-end regular in center or good fourth outfielder.” By and large, he’s become what was expected of him.
“You could say that,” said Straw, who counts playing for multiple postseason teams among his career highlights. “All I know is that I’ve had a blast so far. I think we have a great team here in Toronto, too. But again, I try not to look too far into the future. I just take it a day at a time.”
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Kazuma Okamoto took Trevor Bauer deep twice on Wednesday as the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants beat the Yokohama BayStars 5-0. The 28-year-old slugger has six home runs and a 281 wRC+ on the season. The essentially-exiled-from-MLB hurler is 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA over two starts.
Iori Yamasaki has made three starts for Yomiuri and is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 23 innings. The 26-year-old right-hander went 10-6 with a 2.81 ERA a year ago.
Hyun Jin Ryu is 2-0 with a 2.54 ERA over five starts comprising 28-and-a-third innings for the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles. The 38-year-old left-hander went 10-8 with the Eagles last season after pitching stateside from 2013-2023 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.
Adam Oller is 3-1 with a 4.34 ERA over five starts comprising 29 innings for the Kia Tigers. The 30-year-old right-hander is in his first KBO season after pitching for the Oakland Athletics in 2022-2023, and for the Miami Marlins in 2024.
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Chad Epperson is in his 10th season as a minor-league manager in the Red Sox organization, so he’s seen a lot of impressive young talent move up the ranks. Over the past two years alone, the likes of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Chase Meidroth, and Ceddanne Rafaela have played under his watch with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs.
Helping turn prospects into major leaguers is part of Epperson’s job, and he is also involved in the evaluation process. Managers down on the farm write a lot of reports. Moreover, they play a role in when, or if, players get promoted. How does the 53-year-old skipper view that mix?
“The majority of the job is probably development,” replied Epperson, whose baseball résumé also includes catching coordinator. “Developing these guys and making them fully aware, individually, of what they need to home in on. It’s our job as a staff to make sure that we’re focusing in on those areas, and making sure that they’re trending in the right areas. We do evaluations, but those evaluations are a lot more [spread out], whereas the development is every day.”
“Inside the organization, you’re always asked about players,” continued Epperson. “Say such-and-such is working on swing decisions. Is he progressing or not? I’ll evaluate that. I might say, ‘Yes, and the numbers back it up. This is how he’s trending.’ Or there might be between two players who are in line for a promotion to [Triple-A] Worcester. I’ll give my personal opinion. That doesn’t mean they’re always going to take the guy you picked.”
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FARM NOTES
Vaughn Grissom is slashing .333/.387/.565 with three home runs and a 155 wRC+ in 75 plate appearances for the Worcester Red Sox. The 24-year-old second baseman was acquired by Boston from Atlanta in exchange for Chris Sale prior to last season.
Tommy Hawke has 15 stolen bases in as many attempts with the Low-A Lynchburg Hillcats. A sixth-round pick in 2023 out of Wake Forest University, the 22-year-old outfielder in the Cleveland Guardians system is 13-for-41 (.317) with a .440 OBP.
Ryan Galanie is slashing .339/.388/.627 with three home runs in 67 plate appearances for the High-A Winston-Salem Dash. A 13th-round pick in 2023 out of Wofford College, the 24-year-old first baseman/outfielder in the Chicago White Sox system has a 175 wRC+.
Jesús Made is 11-for-39 (.282) with a home run and a 144 wRC+ in 47 plate appearances for the Low-A Carolina Mudcats. A 17-year-old shortstop from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, Made is the top position-player prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers system, and no. 38 on our Top 100.
Wei-En Lin has a 60% strikeout rate over a dozen innings with the Low-A Stockton Ports. A 19-year-old southpaw who was signed out of Taiwan last summer by the [don’t call us the Sacramento) Athletics, Wei-En has fanned 24 batters, walked none, and allowed six hits.
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A random obscure former player snapshot:
Carl East had a somewhat odd career. On August 24, 1915, he started for the St. Louis Browns and got a no-decision while allowing six runs over three-and-two-thirds innings. It was his lone pitching appearance in the majors. In 1924, East returned to MLB as an outfielder with the Washington Senators. He appeared in just two games, going 2-for-6 and drawing a pair of walks. Nine years apart, he’d had cups of coffee on each side of the ball.
His time down on the farm included boffo seasons, both with the bat and on the mound. Pitching for the Western League’s Lincoln Links/Tigers, East had back-to-back 300-plus-innings seasons where he went 24-14 and 20-17. Playing for the Wichita Witches/Jobbers (name changes weren’t uncommon at the time), he later had back-to-back seasons where he stroked a combined 525 hits with a .388 batting average. Moving from the Western League to the American Association, he proceeded to log 223 hits and a .375 batting average for the Minneapolis Millers.
Which brings us back to the second cup of coffee, which he had at age 30. Following his pair of games with the Senators — against Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees no less — he left the team to join his wife, who was ill, in Chicago. Instead of then rejoining the Washington club, he opted to play in Wisconsin for the Beloit Fairies. East helped lead the industrial league team to a championship, but he missed out on an even bigger one. The 1924 Senators won the World Series.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
At The Guardian, Lynda Lin Grigsby wrote about Jackie Robinson’s deep bond with Los Angeles’s Japanese Americans.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar spoke about racism and injustice on Jackie Robinson Day. Fabian Ardaya has the story at The Athletic (subscription required).
Pittsburgh Pirates fans are increasingly of the opinion that owner Bob Nutting should sell the team. Travis Sawchik has the story at The Score.
The Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes scored three runs on a bases-loaded walk earlier this week. Patrick Andres explained how at SI.com.
Joe Rabbitt’s major league career was fleeting — just two games with the Cleveland Indians in 1922 — but that was only a small slice of the speed-burning outfielder/actor/singer/pugilist/pool hall operator’s life. Darren Gibson profiled Rabbitt for SABR’s BioProject.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
The Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks combined to score 16 runs in the eighth inning on Friday. The last time they played (March 30), the two teams combined to score 11 runs in the eighth inning.
Chicago Cubs catchers are slashing .325/.423/.700 with seven home runs and a 204 wRC+ so far this season. San Francisco Giants catchers are slashing .149/.222/.230 with no home runs and a 32 wRC+.
Robbie Ray was credited with the win despite starting and working just four innings when the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-4 on April 11. The Giants played just five innings on defense in the rain-shortened contest, making Ray eligible for the win. As Tyler Kepner pointed out in The Athletic, it was the 10th occurrence in the division-play era. The five-inning-minimum rule was introduced in 1950.
The New York Yankees have won 117 of their last 162 games versus the Kansas City Royals, a stretch in which the Royals haven’t won back-to-back games against them in any one season (per the Texas Rangers radio broadcast).
Jason Conti went 100-for-420 with 152 total bases and 124 strikeouts.Jerry Sands went 100-for-420 with 154 total bases and 126 strikeouts.
On today’s date in 1937, Dizzy Dean scattered 13 hits while going the distance as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 in 10 innings. Johnny Mize drove in Ducky Medwick with what proved to be the deciding run.
On today’s date in 2007, Jon Coutlangus was credited with the first of his four big-league wins as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1. Scott Hatteberg knotted the contest with a two-out home run in the bottom of the ninth, and Brandon Phillips plated the winning run with a single in the 10th.
Players born on today’s date include Doug Clarey, whose lone big-league hit was a 16th-inning home run that gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on April 28, 1976. An infielder, Clarey appeared in nine games for the Cardinals but came to the plate just four times.
Also born on today’s date was Harry Agganis, a multi-sport star who died of a pulmonary embolism at age 26 midway through the 1955 season. A first baseman with the Boston Red Sox, “The Golden Greek” had excelled as a quarterback at Boston University and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Farmer Vaughn played for two American Association teams in 1891. A catcher who also saw time at other positions, the Ruraldale, Ohio native suited up for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Kelly’s Killers.
